Metempsychosis
by Chrysonite
Summary: Metempsychosis (n.), the transmigration at death of the soul of a human being into a new body of the same species. A victim of the war between the wizarding and muggle worlds, Harry Potter is sent to the past to prevent the war before it begins.


Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world or its characters, all rights belong to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 1–Memory

He had been floating around in this empty void for what seemed like centuries. Not that he could tell how much time had really passed since he woke up and saw this enveloping darkness. It wasn't so bad, drifting in this space. He hadn't had time to think for himself since the Muggle Apocalypse.

He had died before it ended so he doesn't quite know whether his fellow wizards and witches won the war. He remembers his death, however. He was being chased into a dark forest, tripping over snarling roots in an attempt to get away from the muggle guns. He reached a clearing, an open expanse of grass and flowers and, if he had the time, he would have probably admired its beauty. But the clearing left him vulnerable, an open target, so he changed directions, heading for the sound of gurgling water.

It was too late. Heavy footsteps sounded behind him, the whirring of helicopter wings roared in his ears.

Badump. Badump.

He could hear his heartbeat, the blood rushing through his veins. He turned around and faced his opponents, ready for his last stand. Wand raised, standing on the balls of his feet, his back to a tree, he waited.

"Alarte Ascendare." The gang of muggles shot up into the air. "Bombarda Maxima." The large explosion shook the trees and ground alike as the muggles and the helicopters exploded into scraps of metal and speckles of blood. Unflinching, he turned to the next group, who had arrived in time to see their colleagues burst into pieces in midair.

They murmured to each other, pressing buttons on their watches, "Code Red, we've targeted a pretty strong abomination. Pretty sure this is Abomination-31, calling back up—"

Fwoosh.

He sent a torrent of fire their way, interrupting their request for aid. Yells permeated the air as a flickering blue cube was erected around the muggles before turning solid and effectively blocking the flames.

"Ready? Fire!" In a flash, bullets torpedoed their way to him along with a collection of seemingly dangerous lights.

"Lapidum." He raised a stone wall from the ground and watched as the lights scorched lines onto the wall before burning out. As soon as the wall began crumbling into pieces, he sent a few more curses their way before more yells and stomps were heard coming from behind him.

Cursing, he levitated a few boulders and sent them hurtling to the muggles in front of him before turning and setting off a cascading jinx. By then, the first few muggles had already evaded the boulders and were sneaking around to surround him. Bullets and lights exploded into action forcing him to dodge and raise an earth dome for a few seconds of protection. As the dome began to collapse under the heavy assault, he sprang into action, unapologetically casting the killing curse wherever he could.

"Sirs! The ESP block has been placed! He is no longer a threat!" Reported a muggle, saluting.

Resigned to his fate, he dropped his wand and began attacking with his fists, vowing to take one more down before he died. Blood spurted from a young muggle's nose as his uppercut twisted the muggle's face out of proportion. In one stroke, he snapped the muggle's neck and moved on. Jabbing one in the gut and stabbing his fingers into another's eye sockets, he felt as two bullets burrowed themselves into his heart.

Coughing, he attempted to take a step before falling, a gun pointed towards his head. He remembers a sharp pain in the back of his head before everything goes white.

He doesn't quite remember how he arrived in the void, perhaps he simply woke up there, or maybe he was exiled from heaven or whatever the afterlife is.

He hasn't always had his memories, it came back to him slowly, starting with the memory of his death, then images of him with a family. He had a beautiful wife, a redhead with a warm, fond smile. Three children, all teenagers, a little rebellious and rowdy, but otherwise perfect. He remembers a magnificent, welcoming castle, towers reaching the sky and a large lake hosting a giant squid. He remembers a couple of friends, a gangly redhead and a bushy-haired brunette, a daydreaming blonde and chivalrous brunette.

He remembers a translucent man with aristocratic features and eyes so piercing he believed it was reading his soul. That man he remembered the most, for some reason, and evoked the most powerful emotions: hate, admiration, curiosity, pity. For some reason, he connects the man with another: a serpent-like man with a scrambled soul. He remembers this is the man who killed his parents, who he witnessed arise in a graveyard thanks to his stolen blood. He remembers killing him. There was no satisfaction there, only regret. He had been lost a few years after that, the world was so peaceful. He had no purpose, nothing to keep him in the world. Even his new family hadn't been enough.

But then came the Muggle Apocalypse. After the death of the serpent-like man, and two ministers after, the statute of secrecy was broken. The muggleborns convinced the wizarding world that muggles could be trusted and that they shouldn't have to live in secrecy. The purebloods from old families began revolting, hiding in their homes, attempting to take over the ministry. But the muggleborns began spreading the knowledge of magic and muggles began to fear them. It was like the Salem Witch Trials all over again, but the muggles had technology and were far better at catching real witches and wizards.

They created technology that could imitate the effects of a "protego" before inventing the ESP block. A pretty new invention before Harry died, but effective nonetheless. They had the ability to render magic completely useless as long as they had 10 minutes to implement the device without interruptions. The idea came from electromagnetic pulses (EMP) and had he lived to see it, the ESP block would likely improve to become as instantaneous as an EMP.

He remembers the muggles hunting after the wizarding community, from the United Kingdom, to France, to Bulgaria, to the Asian and American communities. The muggles spread the news, captured witches and wizards a like to prove their point before killing them. It was a global genocide of wizarding people. He remembers his family and friends dying one by one under the brutal muggles. He was driven mad and began hunting muggles, picking them off like flies, before they labelled him a threat and sent the military after him. The military had access to the best technology and he began to life on the run, once again.

Alone, he travelled all over the world, learning magic here and there to help him survive and hone his battle instincts. It wasn't enough, in the end, but he lasted longer than any other magical on the run from the military. Especially since he was labelled the number one threat.

He learnt to accept magic as magic, there was no light magic or dark magic, only intent. He learnt elemental magic, spells the British magical had long forgotten and banned. He learnt to be cruel for the sake of survival.

He remembers a whole lifetime of memories, 137 years worth of experience and emotions. And yet, he couldn't remember his name. Anybody's name. Until, with a flash of blinding white light, he heard a whisper.

"Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived."


End file.
